Don't Feed The Lion: Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Mental Health, Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Education, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two leading journalists and mothers reveal the urgent crisis facing kids today — and the powerful new book giving families the tools to confront hate, bias, and antisemitism before it takes root.

--> Get Don't Feed The Lion Here:
https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Feed-Arcadia-Childrens-Books/dp/1467196215

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Phil sits down with award-winning journalists Bianna Golodryga (CNN) and Yonit Levi (Channel 12 Israel) to discuss their groundbreaking middle-grade novel, Don't Feed the Lion a story designed to help children recognize antisemitism, bullying, and bias before these ideas become ingrained.

They reveal why they wrote the book now, how the events of October 7 reshaped global conversations, and why children as young as eight are already encountering hate online and in their classrooms.

Dr. Phil explores the psychology behind early prejudice, how parents and educators can intervene, and why giving kids the language to respond, not freeze is critical. Together, they unpack the role of storytelling, allyship, and real-life "word power" in helping middle graders build courage, empathy, and critical thinking in an increasingly polarized world.

This episode is essential for parents, teachers, mental-health professionals, and anyone concerned about the future of our children and our culture.

This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers | Magnesium Breakthrough: Visit: https://bioptimizers.com/drphil Promo Code: DrPhil for 15% off and 25% off during black Friday. Stronger, longer, better life.

#TeachingKindness #YouthEmpowerment #CriticalThinking #Storytelling #BullyingPrevention #GlobalAffairs #CNN #Channel12Israel #EmpathyBuilding

Transcript

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0:00.0	My guest today are award-winning journalist who spent their careers helping the world understand itself,
0:06.0	and now they're helping parents do the same for our children.
0:11.0	When your kids are asking, why are they doing this? Why do they hate us?
0:14.0	You don't have a response for them and turn to their educators in schools to see what resources they have.
0:20.0	There was nothing for anti-Semitism.
0:22.8	Yonit and I spoke and finally said, let's write the book we can't find. The heartbreak of October
0:27.5	7th and then the second heartbreak of October 8th and the sort of tsunami of anti-Semitism.
0:32.6	It was just this point where we felt like wanting to tell this particular story.
0:36.6	It gives children the tools to push back
0:41.2	against the bullying, the hatred, the anti-Semitic tropes.
1:02.3	My guest today are award-winning journalist who spent their careers helping the world understand itself,
1:07.2	and now they're helping parents do the same for our children.
1:13.8	Vienna-Golidriga is an Emmy award-winning CNN anchor and senior global affairs analyst,
1:20.6	and Yonique Levy is Israel's leading primetime news anchor on Channel 12, one of the most trusted voices in Middle East journalism. Together, they've teamed up for what I can honestly say is a groundbreaking new middle-grade
1:32.4	novel called Don't Feed the Lion. And it's available right now. This book isn't just another
1:39.8	story for kids. It's a tool for families and educators to start conversations that, frankly,
1:48.0	most adults just don't really know how to begin. It helps children understand something that,
1:55.0	frankly, they shouldn't have to understand, but it helps them understand anti-Semitism, bias,
2:05.4	bullying, and not just as an abstract, not as just something they read about, hear about, or study, but as an emotional reality,
2:14.8	something that sadly they're very likely to be living and exposed to, something that they can
2:23.4	identify and respond to.
2:26.3	And Bionnet wrote this book after realizing that there were just virtually no resources for young readers to turn to to understand
	...

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